By: Sean Moylan
Slowly but surely, Mike Brennan is becoming the Dean Smith of Bordentown Regional High School boys’ varsity soccer.
His Scotties don’t put up flashy, in-your face offensive statistics, but few area soccer coaches develop as many well-rounded soccer players capable of playing at the next level as Brennan does.
In fact, senior Mike Brown, a master defender for the Scotties, recently signed on to play soccer at the next level.
"Mike Brown signed a Letter of Intent to play at Saint Benedictine College," said Brennan. "Last year he started as a midfielder and then we moved him in the back at the end of the year and he solidified us in the backfield. Mike is one of the more cerebral players around and he should do well in a college system."
While Brown was injured a good portion of this past year, he returned to the lineup just in time to play several standout games as a center defenseman.
Next season Jesse Harrison, the Scotties’ great midfielder, and C.J. Dixon, Bordentown’s Second Team All-State goalie, will play soccer for Mercer County Community College, which has one of the most successful soccer programs of any community college in the entire USA.
"Jesse Harrison is quite a magician on the ball so he should do well on the turf," said Brennan, whose senior leader scored 11 goals and had 10 assists this past season. "Jesse really found a way of controlling the tempo of the game for us."
Dixon set Bordentown’s single-season record for shutouts with 13. He’s just an amazing talent. "C.J. Dixon elevated his game every time we needed him to," Brennan added.
This past fall, former Scottie Scott Conover made Stockton’s men’s soccer team. So Bordentown and Brennan are on a roll of producing college caliber players which they hope will continue for years to come.